


i sometimes do

by serj



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Drabble, F/M, M/M, Old Flames
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-12
Updated: 2016-02-12
Packaged: 2018-05-19 23:19:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5984038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serj/pseuds/serj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aragorn reaches into the quiet places in his heart and pulls out a secret that he buried long ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i sometimes do

Preparing for sleep consisted of a concise ritual for Aragorn. 

First, he would wash up in the basin of water outside, scrubbing his calloused hands thoroughly. He would take a moment to gaze up at the stars overhead that hung over the village like blots of white paint against a dark canvas. With one last breath of the cool night air, he would head indoors to put on his nightclothes. 

But tonight when he reached into the uppermost drawer of his dresser, his fingers brushed against something cool. He pulled out an Elvish pin, modeled after two overlapping leaves. He knew immediately where it was from, and smiled sadly. 

For it had reminded him of days past, when the Ring of Power was tucked away into the pocket of a hobbit, and the throne of Gondor remained unclaimed by its rightful heir. It reminded him of friends he saw far too scarcely nowadays, and it reminded him of one particular wood elf who had haunted his dreams long ago.

"Arwen," he greeted as he stepped into the room they shared. She lay under the silk covers of their bed, looking as radiant as the day he had met her.

"Come lay next to me," Arwen said. "Tell me, what is it that troubles you so? Is our wedding day not tomorrow?"

He crawled under the covers next to her. "So it is, and I could never be more delighted to awaken when morning comes. But before we wed, there is something I must confess."

She gazed at him intently; a look he could not ignore. 

"Many years ago, when we had been apart for some time, and before we pledged our hearts to each other, I loved another."

He expected her to look hurt, or even deceived. But Arwen held her stance, relaxed, and drinking in every word that escaped Aragorn's lips.

"It was never something I had planned upon, and we made no vows, nor talked of our future together. It came upon me more quickly than anything I have ever felt, and our love was passionate and steadfast and it left me seething, like fire eating away at stones."

 

_"How much longer will we travel? I grow weary of this place. It is nothing like the forests my feet have carried me through my whole life." Aragorn lay his head in the other's lap, looking up at him with restless eyes._

_Legolas grinned knowingly as he combed a hand through Aragorn's knotted hair. "Soon, I promise. My father's palace lies just half a day's walk from here. Gi melin."_

_Aragorn pulled Legolas down so that the elf's head was leaning over his own. He kissed him chastely, biting gently at his lower lip before letting go. "Gi melin. Melin Legolas."_

 

“You seemed different when you returned to Rivendell, then. As if you had overcome something.”

“And you were correct in assuming so. Our relationship crumbled, and I realized that there was still someone I loved, someone that wasn’t him.”

“‘Him’?” Arwen raised her eyebrows amusedly. “You cannot mean our friend Legolas, son of Thranduil?”

“I do.”

She broke into a chorus of laughter that sounded like wind chimes in a strong breeze. “I always wondered if there was something between you two. You look at each other as if through a delicate sheet of glass.”

 

_A heavy breath escaped him. “Legolas.”_

_“Yes?”_

_“Have you ever loved someone?”_

_“I love you.”_

_Aragorn hummed contently, stroking Legolas’s cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I know that. But before me?”_

_The elf considered this. “Long ago, I did. But I have learned since then not to wear my heart upon my sleeve.”_

_“And yet you allowed me to find where it was hidden.”_

_“It took you long enough.”_

_Aragorn gazed into the fire that sent up sparks before them. “There is a maiden back in Rivendell who I still find myself thinking of.”_

_“Is that who clouds your vision when you are lost inside your mind?”_

_He tilted his head to meet the eyes of his companion. “Only you have the ability to blind me.”_

 

“Do you ever wonder if you made the wrong decision? If by abandoning his love, you strayed from the path that was meant for you?”

Aragorn lay his head back against the down-feather pillow that softened his dreams at night. “I know that if I had not returned to you, I would not be here next to you today, and that is enough for me to be certain that I chose the road that would lead me to happiness.”

She traced her hand across the line of his jaw, seemingly satisfied by this answer. But in his mind, an unsaid reply echoed, aching to be acknowledged.

_“I sometimes do.”_

**Author's Note:**

> I impulse deleted this a while ago, and am re-posting it now, so I apologize for the confusion. I may make a continuation of this, but it is likely it won't happen for quite some time. Thank you for reading.


End file.
